In today’s interview, we have the privilege of speaking with Mr. Alejandro Gallego, Business Unit Director of Textile Technology at AMEC (Spanish Textile Solutions Manufacturers Association). With a wealth of experience and expertise in the textile industry, Mr. Gallego sheds light on the invaluable contributions of Spanish companies and organizations to the development of the textile sector in the Middle East and Africa.
Throughout our discussion, Mr. Gallego offers insights into the unique challenges faced by textile professionals in these regions and emphasizes the importance of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning. From the role of European governments in supporting sectoral growth to the potential of digital textile printing technology, Mr. Gallego provides a comprehensive overview of the opportunities and challenges ahead.
Furthermore, he shares AMEC’s recommendations and solutions aimed at addressing these challenges, highlighting the organization’s commitment to fostering knowledge exchange, technological advancement, and sustainable practices within the global textile community.
Join us as we delve into a captivating dialogue with Mr. Alejandro Gallego, exploring the dynamic landscape of the textile industry and the promising future it holds for Africa, the Middle East, and beyond.
How do Spanish companies and organizations contribute to the development of the textile sector in the Middle East and Africa?
Spanish textile sector is all about experience, every textile mill in every country finds itself with different challenges; some might want to develop a new product, enter a new export market, improve the factory performance… Spain sees the opportunity to work like with any other country or region in the world, be next to the process and touch the factories to develop a unique solution.
African and Middle Eastern textile professionals are like the rest of the world textile professionals, and we want to learn with them, through common training, share innovation and information.
What role do European governments play in supporting the development of the textile sector in the Middle East and Africa?
In the case of Spain, we are identifying the main challenges that African and middle eastern have, sometimes might come to financing their operations, visa issuing, staying competitive in a policy changing environment… the initiative is to stablish communication channels where these issues can be transmitted and solved to ensure a smooth collaboration between countries and companies.
How do you assess the potential of African and Middle Eastern markets in the textile sector, particularly regarding the future prospects of digital textile printing technology in these regions?
I see a huge potential for the region to have a global impact in the textile world, there are countries doing great investments in cutting edge technology, we also see countries that are starting to develop textile mills and have great ambitions.
The last ITMA edition in Milan helped us to see how eager textile professionals from the region are and we were happy to debate with them their challenges, some of them were about digital textile printing and the transition the textile finishing must do towards sustainability, it is key for the sector to be up to date in these processes.
What are the solutions and recommendations provided by AMEC to address challenges in the textile sector?
At amec, we recommend to textile professionals to be updated to the latest information, policy regulations, new technology, water & energy reduction, factories connectivity… To do so, we are open to transmit all the information they might be interested in, and even organise activities where they can interact with spanish companies.
Mr. Alejandro Gallego emphasizes, “We say to every textile worker in Africa or the Middle East, be brave. There are and will be changes in the sector, but the future is full of opportunities!”
